Sleep Deprivation
by TheRazzleDazzleDame
Summary: Jango has been many things in his life - but a caregiver isn't one of them.


(OOCness, cute baby stuff...yeah, I'm feeling shameless. I hope you enjoy. And I _still_ don't own Star Wars or any of it's characters.)

* * *

><p>Jango thought he was losing his mind.<p>

Of course, that could have had something to do with the fact that he hadn't had much sleep for the last couple of months. Every little thing turned into an overwhelmingly, frustrating, _mountain_ of task that he could not, despite his many efforts, complete.

The bounty hunter held his face in his hands. He was even scared to _shave_ for fear of hitting something important and killing himself he was so tired.

Then there was the constant fear of doing something_ wrong_. Not to himself, no. Fear that due to his lack of experience he would mess something completely up.

It was utterly ridiculous.

And he was about to break.

He heard the sound of something moving behind him and turned his head, eyes barely managing to stay open from exhaustion.

Big brown eyes stared up at him, blinking in confusion.

Then that _smile_.

Jango scooped up the small creature, cradling it against his chest and holding it close to his face. The small smile widened into a goofy, overly joyed baby grin accompanied by a giggle.

A smile _had_ to be returned. (Along with the pressing of lips against soft baby cheeks and making funny sounds against them, causing the giggle to grow into fits.)

Jango had never been one to overly worry, but the moment he held Boba in his arms - so small, warm and completely _dependent_ on him - he did nothing _but_ worry. He had never had any experience with children, especially babies.

He also didn't know he would be one of those people who found babies so irresistibly adorable, either...

So these first few months had been one hell of an experience.

The first night he brought the baby to his room - new "home" on Tipoca city he guessed - he just sat in a chair and watched the little thing sleep.

Boba slept a lot at first. Jango found that he watched him sleep a_ lot_, even ignoring his own growing exhaustion. It was easy to just hold him and not think of anything, just watching his little body rise and fall with every breath.

After a while, though, Boba grew fussy. Jango would rock him to sleep, change him, feed him - it worked sometimes, and when it didn't Jango found himself border-line panicking.

_Calm down, _di'kut_!_ would be the mantra playing in his head until he finally did calm down. The baby would eventually tire himself out and go to sleep, but even then Jango found it hard to leave him.

The continuous cycle of tending to Boba's random, almost constant needs was starting to take its toll. Jango knew somewhere deep down that he had plenty of chances to sleep, and he had, but for some reason he couldn't make himself go lie down for more than thirty minutes at a time...

Jango felt his arms grow weak for a second, the baby almost slipping into his lap.

He was instantly wide awake, standing from the bed and protectively holding the baby as tightly to his chest as he could without hurting him. Boba didn't seem to notice and continued to giggle at Jango's antics.

Jango began pacing the room, bouncing the baby in his arms. He enjoyed the sound of the kid laughing, and the bouncing seemed to keep it going. So, he did this for a good ten minutes.

Boba's eyes were drifting shut, and Jango couldn't help but notice how thick the kid's lashes were. (Not that he hadn't _already_ noticed this.)

Jango set the baby down on the bed again. He watched as tiny fingers curled and uncurled unconsciously...

A loud _thud_ echoed through the room and Jango gasped in surprise. He looked around the room, startled, wondering what could have fallen to make such a loud sound -

He felt an ache begin to form in his backside. He had fallen. Jango stared at his legs, wondering how they had failed him. He groaned, pulling a shaking hand to his face, rubbing it furiously.

He _needed_ sleep. The bounty hunter could endure many things, even lack of sleep, but not for such a long period of time. Jango began to stand when he heard a soft rustling come from the bed.

Boba had apparently been woken up by the loud noise of Jango falling on his _shebs_ on the floor. He wasn't crying, something Jango was glad of. He finished standing, ignoring the shaking that had started, and stared at the baby lying on the bed.

And nearly had a heart attack.

Boba had somehow made his way to the edge of the bed - had Jango put him that close to it? - and was dangerously close to toppling off head first. Jango quickly grabbed the baby and held him close to him once again, absently feeling the shaking in his arms as he squeezed them around his son.

"Oh _shab_, _shab_..." Jango mumbled to himself as he continued to squeeze.

Boba whimpered at the increasing pressure and Jango loosened his grip.

He almost dropped Boba. _Again_.

Jango quickly set him in his crib - not far from Jango's bed, of course - and began pacing the room.

This was _not like him_. He was always cool headed, knew what to do, could handle _anything_. So what was the problem? He trusted himself. Why was he so worked up over _every_ _little thing_ with Boba?

Jango had no idea he had a side like this. He was always so careful to keep everything under control. He paused, realizing something…

That's the way he operated in his _work_, not his personal affairs. Not that he had many of those. So being given a _baby_ to care for would most certainly throw anyone - yes, even Jango Fett - for a loop. He sighed, rubbing his prickly face.

Maybe he could shave really quickly? Before Boba woke up again?

Jango peered into the crib, making sure his son - the thought of having a son was a completely foreign and thoroughly _delightful_ thought - was still sleeping before heading to clean himself up a bit. The kid was still asleep, thankfully, and Jango made his legs carry him to the 'fresher.

Just as he reached the door, he heard a _buzzing_ sound. His first reaction was to ignore it. But it continued, and he realized it was the door. Someone wanted in.

_Who?_ Jango sighed and headed for the door, not really caring for company at the moment. Whoever it was would have to be disappointed; Jango was not in the mood for guests. Even if it was Tyranus. The old man could go crash into a building for all he cared…

Jango had his payment.

He opened the door without even checking to see who it was - sloppy, yes, but he wagered if whoever it was wanted to fight a sleep deprived, somewhat starved Jango would do a pretty damn good job of beating their ass.

Jango groaned as he saw a familiar purple clad figure in his doorway, rain soaked and not too happy looking. Her displeased expression changed into surprise as she got a good look at his face.

Jango was far beyond caring at that moment about how he looked.

"Zam," he mumbled as he turned around and headed back into the abode.

The Claudite stepped in, shutting the door behind her. "Jango? Is that you? You look like a hobo…"

Jango bit back a remark, deciding to respond with a noncommittal grunt.

"You've been hiding out on _Kamino_ of all places? I didn't even know this planet existed until I did some snooping," she paused, taking her helmet off and setting it down on a nearby table. "What are you doing here? It _can't_ be a vacation." She looked out the window to the pouring sheets of rain.

"I'm not hiding. Why are you here?"

"I asked first!"

Jango growled, hoping it sounded more menacing than pitiful. He wasn't sure if he could manage anything _more_ than pitiful at that moment…

The distinct sound of a baby's - _Boba's_ - wailing stopped Jango's brain from processing any sort of retort to Zam's questioning. He didn't even notice the look of complete confusion on her face as he turned to his bedroom.

"Is that…a _baby_?"

Jango decided to ignore Zam completely. How could he have left Boba alone for that long? How long was it? Was it even _that_ long? He picked Boba up, holding him in his arms and bouncing him lightly. "Shhh…_udesii_…"

He heard Zam enter the room but couldn't find himself caring in the slightest. "Jango, that _is_ a baby - "

"Zam, _what are you doing here_?" He had to say it louder than he had intended due to the baby's crying.

Jango had just realized Zam was in her human form, as usual, as he gave her a hard look. She still looked completely shocked, but managed to at least begin a reply.

"I was going after…Jango, that's a _baby_! What are you doing with a baby? Where did you get it?" She stepped closer, inspecting the small form. Her face softened as Boba realized someone else was there and he gave her a wide eyed stare. "Oh, _oh…_hey there."

She held her hand out and the baby grabbed one of her fingers, weakly pulling it toward himself. Jango watched in usual fascination, and then resisted a smile when the kid began giggling as he played with Zam's finger.

After a few minutes of watching Boba play with her hand, Zam looked at Jango. "Seriously, where did he come from?" She smiled down at the infant as he grabbed another finger.

"Me." Jango answered, not really feeling like going into detail about how he had himself cloned, not only for an "apprentice" but for an army for the unsuspecting Republic.

Zam looked at Jango again, "Who's the father?"

It took Jango a moment to realize how silly the comment was. He shook his head, sighing. "Zam, _really_ - "

"Ok, ok! I'll make you tell me later." She paused, offering to hold Boba. Jango froze, not sure what to do. Sure, he trusted Zam with his life - most of the time, anyway - but with his son?

"I have experience with kids, Jango. Don't worry, I won't drop him." She almost sounded irritated.

Jango slowly handed Boba over to Zam, who took the baby and snuggled him against her chest. She smiled warmly, her eyes glued to the infant. "Oh, he's so warm…"

"Yeah, I know," Jango said, not really knowing why. He felt his arms shaking again and did his best to stop them from doing so. Usually he could stop it.

But not this time. Jango felt his whole body begin to quake, making it hard to stand. He quickly sat on the bed, glad Zam was there to hold Boba…

"You really look like hell," she said as she sat beside him, the baby still snug in her arms. "When was the last time you slept?"

"Yesterday morning." He replied, not lying. He had got a good half hour before the sun - or, absence of since he was on Kamino - had risen.

"For how _long_?"

Jango shrugged. "Look, Zam - "

She stood, standing directly in front of Jango. "Since I'm already here," she started, a hint of exasperation in her voice, "I can watch the baby while you get some much, _much_ needed shut eye."

"No -"

"Have you looked at yourself lately?"

"Zam, I don't - "

"Dammit Jango, _listen to me_! You're gonna end up doing more harm than not if you keep this up. Since I'm already here, and I'm a _somewhat _friend, you should take this time to get yourself back on your feet. Just get a few hours of sleep, then when you wake up I'll leave." She paused, then added quickly: "But not before you tell me how you came across this little guy."

Jango felt his head begin to spin. He slowly nodded, not sure if that was him agreeing with her or him trying not to fall asleep where he sat. "Alright. But I need a shower first…"

Zam laughed, but didn't say anything. She began pacing the room, bouncing the baby. Jango watched for a minute before she looked at him and glared. "Jango, _shower_?"

He stood, gave himself a moment to get his footing, and headed for the 'fresher.

Twenty minutes later, he was standing in his bedroom again. He didn't shave, not trusting himself with anything pointy at the moment. He looked at Zam, who was sitting on the bed, gently swaying back the baby back and forth.

She looked up and laughed. "When are you going to shave?"

Jango stared at Boba. "You know how to care for a human baby?"

Zam shrugged. "Yeah, it can't be much different from what I've dealt with."

"Zam," Jango started, nothing but seriousness in his voice. "I need to know that you can take care of him while I'm asleep."

Zam sighed in frustration. "_Yes_ Jango, I _can_ take care of him while you're asleep. Now go to bed. I'll be in the main room." She got up to leave, but stopped right before she stepped through the door. "Nice place, by the way."

Jango sighed, ignoring the stupidly random comment, and fell on the bed. He was out cold before he realized it.

As Jango awoke, he realized two things:

One; he felt like he had been trampled by a reek, and two; Boba was not anywhere in the room.

He didn't panic, but he did run out of the room, almost knocking someone over -

Wait, who was there? Jango gave himself a moment to _calm down_ and take in his surroundings. When had he fallen asleep?

_I'm losing it,_ he thought as he tried to remember what had happened. He looked saw the person he had run into was Zam - _thankfully_; if it _wasn't _a friendly he would have probably been dead by now.

Then he remembered what had happened and sighed. Yes, in relief.

"Where's the fire?" Zam asked, her annoyance _not_ hidden. "Have a good sleep?"

"How long was I asleep?" Jango looked around the room, glad to see Boba asleep on the couch. He didn't like that Zam wasn't watching him, though. The kid wiggled a lot and could fall off...

"Eh, about a day and a half." She didn't sound too shocked by this, but Jango found himself reeling. He hadn't slep that long in a long while. Actually, he didn't know if he had _ever_ slept that long in his life.

He went to the couch and picked Boba up, making sure to do it gently. The kid woke up, but saw who was holding him and shut his eyes again. Jango felt the corners of his lips twitch into a smile.

"So," Zam started as she made her way to the couch. "Are you gonna tell me who knocked you up?"

* * *

><p>(There ya go. I hope it wasn't <em>too<em> cute. I hope the characters aren't _too _out of it, (blame it on lack of sleep?) and if there are any other errors, I do apologize. This idea isn't an original, I know - _oh, how cute would it be to write Jango with a little Boba? _- but it's been nagging me for some time now. Zam was added because I really like Zam. ;) She's the comedic relief. Of course, imagining Jango running around worried about Boba's pretty funny itself.)


End file.
